Update on ‘closure’ of Birmingham park attraction

The Labour-run authority, which found itself overwhelmed by a financial crisis, is embarking on a review of its parks management service as it looks to balance the books.

It was recently revealed that Kings Heath Park Garden Centre/Nursery faces closure, a prospect which sparked a petition that has been signed more than 4,000 times.

Moseley councillor Izzy Knowles (Liberal Democrats), who launched the petition, previously argued that closing the nursery would be “devastating” and “deprive Kings Heath Park of one of its major attractions”.

“What BCC doesn’t understand is this is used by a lot of pensioners, who meet up with others, have coffee/cake and buy garden stuff from the nursery,” one person who signed it said. “It keeps them active, mentally and physically.”

Another described it as a “wonderful community resource” and a “hidden gem”.

But a recently-published Birmingham City Council report has said the closure of Kings Heath Nursery is currently in its “transitional period” and is scheduled to formally close by the end of this month.

“The service is currently seeking expressions of interest from voluntary sector green space organisations who have an interest in taking on the nursery garden centre unit,” it went on to say however.

“Several interested parties have already viewed the property and are currently working on proposals that would retain the glass house unit as a horticultural / land-based training venue.”

It said the option to work with a voluntary sector organisation to retain “some use” of the glass house and garden centre facility as a training venue would enable some “horticultural sales events” to be delivered in partnership with the nursery service.

“This, it is hoped, will sustain the use of the buildings and help to address community concerns about the closure of the facility,” it added.

Earlier this year, cabinet member for environment Coun Majid Mahmood addressed fears over the future of the attraction and said: “The assets belong to the people of the city and if we can bring them to use, and not at the cost to the city council, that’s something I would be in favour of.”

The report went on to say that the Kings Heath Nursery operations would be retained and transferred to Cofton Nursery.

“This will include a refreshed retail sales area and community engagement from Cofton Nursery,” it said.

It added that a cabinet report is currently in progress to formalise the ‘nursery reduction programme’.

The council effectively declared itself bankrupt back in September 2023 by issuing a section 114 notice, before signing off an enormous wave of cuts to local services.

Providing insight on its financial turmoil, external auditors have highlighted several issues which played a role including the equal pay debacle, inadequate budget setting, poor service management, demand led pressures and the disastrous implementation of a new IT system.

Labour politicians have also pointed to the impact of funding cuts over the past decade or so.

Kings Heath Nursery and the council’s parks review are set to be discussed tomorrow, May 14, at a Neighbourhoods Overview and Scrutiny Committee.